For almost four and a half decades, Charlie Elias, an avuncular septuagenarian with the energy of a teenager, greeted his customers at Charlie’s Backdoor, his eponymous Northeast Heights restaurant. On a hot sunny day, there was probably no more welcome respite from the sun’s blinding rays and scorching heat than Charlie’s. The minute you walked in, the temperature seemed to drop 20 degrees thanks to the restaurant’s subdued lighting and heat. On cold winter days, there was no surcease of warmth courtesy of Charlie’s friendly and welcoming nature which made guests feel right at home As Charlie began to wind down his lengthy career, his son Jamie, became the restaurant’s official ambassador, a smiling presence who met and greeted all patrons with the same homespun, genuine friendliness as his father.
Charlie’s Backdoor shuttered its doors in 2014, the same year Charlie passed away. His passing and the restaurant’s closure were events warranting an apron hanging at half mast. Not only would Duke City diners miss one of our favorite restaurant personalities, we would miss some of our favorite New Mexican food. Charlie’s menu was a unique blend of American and New Mexican favorites with unique takes on both. Not to mention unique names. Who can ever forget the “Sheepherder’s Special” (pastrami, green chile, tortilla) or the “Como Se Llama” (Polish sausage, refried beans, cheese, tortilla)? Then there was the “Mexican Banker” (ham, turkey, cheese, Thousand Island dressing and green chile strips in a tortilla) and the Kay’s Special (homemade tortilla, carnitas, white cheese and green chile). If those menu items evoke a nostalgic longing for one more meal at Charlie’s, you’re not alone.
While Charlie’s Backdoor may be mostly a memory, Jamie Elias has resurrected much of what we loved about the Hoffmantown Shopping Center restaurant. As the food and beverage director at the Los Altos Golf Course (one of four city-owned golf courses) Jamie has brought back much of Charlie’s magic. For years, only savvy golfers knew that the Los Altos Grill served up several of their favorite dishes from Charlie’s Backdoor. That secret was divulged in 2024 when Albuquerque The Magazine accorded a “Hot Plate” award to the Grill for its sour cream enchiladas. Fittingly, the award was called the “Hot Throwback” because of the sense of nostalgia (and involuntary salivation) the dish evoked when diners remembered its incomparable deliciousness.
On the menu at the Los Altos Grill, those famous sour cream enchiladas (Charlie’s all-time best-seller) are called “Charlie’s Backdoor.” How appropriate. How wonderful! If only the Los Altos Grill wasn’t so far away for those of us who can only get there by driving through the I25 construction nightmare. The menu has four distinct sections: Breakfast, New Mexican Food, LA Grill Burgers and House Sandwiches. There are other familiar items on the menu including the aforementioned Kay’s Special. Some of us will never get past the New Mexican Foods section of the menu. It’s what brought us to the Los Altos Grill and what will keep us coming back.
If you’ve never previously visited the Los Altos Grill, you might think you’re driving to the well-hidden secret lair of some superhero (maybe SuperLobo). It’s got an address of 9717 Copper Avenue, N.E., but don’t expect to see any restaurant frontage…or even a luxurious clubhouse. You’ll want to take the (barely) two-lane street past golfers and a (barely) green course. After about half a mile, you’ll espy a fairly nondescript edifice that houses a banqueting facility and the Los Altos Grill. Don’t expect a lot of signage. In fact, there’s no signage at all, but you’re likely to run into a golfer or two munching on a handheld burrito while walking out of a stuccoed facility.
Save for the fabulous aromas, there are no vestiges of Charlie’s Backdoor which was essentially a bar that served food. Charlie’s was built around a rectacular bar which until you figure out is sunken, gives the appearance of a very short bartender. The Los Altos Grill is a much better illuminated and similarly air-conditioned venue with seating that is functional and comfortable enough. Its cynosure is a counter where you’ll place your order from an overhead menu. Your order will be delivered to your table in short order. It might even be delivered by Jamie Elias, a peripatetic presence at the Grill.
Make sure your trip down memory lane starts with an order of chips and salsa. It’s vintage Charlie sure to evoke nostalgic pangs. The salsa is pretty much liquefied gold, an amalgam of pureed ingredients. There’s not much piquancy to the salsa, but it’s got those addictive properties New Mexicans love. The chips are among the very best in town: crispy, thick, flat triangles of deliciousness. Some of those tortillas puff up like desiccated sopaipillas. Puncture them and fill them with salsa. It doesn’t get any better than that.
In bygone years my Kim was able to enjoy Charlie’s New Mexican fare as much as I did. Sadly, some accursed medication has altered her taste buds, depriving her of the ability to enjoy piquant foods. Years ago she would not have ordered a brisket sandwich at any restaurant specializing in New Mexican food. What Texans consider a brisket sandwich is many orders of magnitude better than what New Mexicans are subjected to. This brisket sandwich was basically chopped brisket doused in sauce, akin to a sloppy Joe with barbecue sauce and chopped meat. My Kim liked it but envied my dish even more.
The twelve labors of Hercules were child’s play compared to driving past the interminable I25 construction project. Ah, the price we pay to enjoy wonderful New Mexican food and few things are as good as Charlie’s Backdoor (sour cream and green chile baked into layered enchiladas topped with a white Swiss-American cheese) served with Spanish rice and beans. It’s joy and rapture on a plate. My taste buds were ecstatic at every bite of this delicious plate, the piquancy of fruity green chile and saltiness of the white cheese coalescing. It goes to prove you can go back home…or at least the next best thing, a restaurant you once loved for one of your favorite dishes.
The Los Altos Grill is miles and decades removed from Charlie’s Backdoor, but it’s great to know much of that menu we loved so much is once again available to us.
Los Altos Grill
9717 Copper Avenue, N.E.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 298-1897
LATEST VISIT: 30 May 2025
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$
BEST BET: Charlie’s Backdoor, Chips and Salsa, Brisket Sandwich
REVIEW #1471